About

Arcane Alley

$19,767

pledged of $15,000 goal

495

backers

If you missed the campaign, it's okay! We still want you to join us in the black magic market. We are accepting late pledges until January 1st, 2019. Here's the deal:

If you pledged a Standard or Deluxe copy during the campaign, just wait for the survey to come out, and then you'll be able to add any number of Standard copies for $19 each and Deluxe copies for $29 each (the Kickstarter price).

If you pledged No Reward or didn't pledge during the campaign, click the Late Pledge button above (before January 1st!) to be invited to our pledge manager. Standard copies will still be $19 each, but Deluxe copies will cost $35 each.

Here's What We Unlocked!

Wizard Powers: The base game will now include custom, unique wizard powers on the back of each wizard card, as an optional variant. Check out Update #6 for more.

The Spelling Bee (Kickstarter Exclusive): Every pledged copy of the game (Standard or Deluxe) will now include TWO copies of the curiously enchanting, enchanted Spelling Bee item. Check out the stretch goals below to get a look at the little fella and his power.

Inspection Token: The base game will now include an updated game board that tracks 3 inspections, as well as a tracking token. The Standard edition will use a gray cube, while the Kickstarter Exclusive Deluxe edition will have a custom shaped screen-printed token (voted on by backers). Check out Update #8 for more.

Upgraded Cards: Every card in the game will now be printed on high-quality 310gsmblackcore.

Stocking Stuffers: You can add a stocking stuffer gift postcard to your pledge for $1 each, to be mailed in time for the holidays. Check out Update #5 for more.

Thank You to All of Our Bespelled Backers!

Arcane Alley is a tableau and set collection board game for 2-6 players, age 10+, and plays in about 45 minutes.

Welcome to the black magic market. In Arcane Alley, each player is a wizard merchant, peddling enchanted curiosities to the most curious enchanters. Outsell, outsmart, and outlast the other players with help from the magical items in your storehouse, but don’t get caught by the inspectors.

Here are some reasons to back Arcane Alley now instead of waiting for retail:

Kickstarter price: the Standard edition ($19) will MSRP at $25.

Kickstarter exclusive Deluxe edition: the Deluxe edition ($29) and its Deluxe components will NOT be available in regular distribution.

Kickstarter exclusive Spelling Bee item: this adorable little grammagical wonder will ONLY be available to backers.

Stretch goals: your pledges will improve the game by increasing the printing and component quality, and even adding bonus components to the game.

Bundled shipping discount: multiple copies will ship for a much lower cost (see the Shipping section).

Arcane Alley is available in either Standard or Deluxe edition.

In Arcane Alley, players compete to sell sets of items for gold while minimizing infamy from items remaining in their storehouse during the round’s inspection. The game is played over a number of rounds, with each round containing the following phases.

Stock: A round starts by dealing all players a storehouse of 9 hidden items and a hand of 2 items. Each player then chooses and reveals 2 of their hidden storehouse items.

Sell: On your turn, you'll draw and add 1 item to your hand, then either discard an item, or play an item into your storehouse, replacing any item (hidden or revealed) you choose.

Try to make sets of 3 identical items in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally), which will award gold for the set and reduce the size of your storehouse for the rest of the round.

There are 20 unique items, each worth an amount of gold (good) for a sold set, an amount of infamy (bad) if you're caught with the item during an inspection, and a unique ability that lets you move, swap, and gain bonuses in your storehouse.

Inspect: When someone triggers the round's inspection (by ending their turn with no hidden items left), all hidden cards are revealed and players gain infamy for the items in their storehouses. Every 25 infamy will force you to pay a fine in gold.

Bribe: If a round ends without a winner, players are offered a chance to bribe to reduce their remaining infamy, then a new round begins.

To win, be the first player to pass an inspection with 100 or more gold.

Want to see more gameplay? Check out the following play-through videos by Tantrum House and Jon Gets Games.

Backers will also receive TWO copies of the Kickstarter exclusive Spelling Bee item in each pledged copy of the game (Standard or Deluxe).

In addition, these funding-related stretch goals will improve the quality of components and storage for both the Standard and Deluxe editions of the game.

Watch and read on to see what people are saying about Arcane Alley.

Note: These previews used a prototype copy. The text, art, and components of the final game may differ from what is shown.

And here's a preview of the 2-player variant (small rules change):

This project is USA, EU, CAN, and AUS shipping friendly, which means the rewards ship from inside those regions and you will not get stuck with any brokerage, customs, or duty fees.

In addition, we have provided a discount to EVERY region to lower shipping costs for you, as shown below. Each extra copy of the game will also ship at a lower cost.

The base shipping cost for 1 copy will be collected when you pledge. Want more than 1 copy of the game? Just increase your pledge amount by the cost of each additional copy ($19 for Standard, $29 for Deluxe) plus the cost of shipping an extra copy to your region.

For example, if you want 3 copies of the Standard edition shipped to the US, it would be a total cost of $66 ($19 base pledge + $5 base shipping + $38 for two extra copies + $4 for shipping two extra copies).

If you back Arcane Alley as a gift for someone, you can add on a stocking stuffer postcard to present to the giftee while the game is in production. For each postcard, increase your pledge by $1. It will arrive before the holidays! To see what it says, check out Update #5.

Want to know more? Here are the many magical items that can be found in Arcane Alley.

It takes a lot of people to bring a board game to life, and I want to thank everyone for their help and support while stumbling along the years-long learning process of designing and refining Arcane Alley to be the game I am proud to present to all of you.

Thanks to Janette for all of her beautiful pieces and bearing with me, and for being an absolute pleasure to work with.

Thanks to Ferdinand from The Cardboard Stacker for the GIFs and video.

Thanks to Brian for providing his best wizard narrator for that video.

Thanks to Rich, Jim, Adam, and Matt for their help in refining the game, as well as their patience when things were not refined, as well as letting me hijack our D&D sessions to replay the same ol' game again and again.

Thanks to everyone in Austin, TX that has let me bribe you with slices of pizza to playtest.

Thanks to Derek Funkhouser for helping test and refine a 2-player variant ruleset.

And most of all, thank you to all of our backers. We know there are a lot of great board games coming out these days and appreciate your support to bring Arcane Alley to the world.

Risks and challenges

We have done our research to prepare for this campaign and ensure its success, and are confident both in the quality of the game and our ability to deliver on time.

That being said, there are risks associated with every campaign.

To minimize these risks, we have partnered with two highly praised and reliable industry leaders for manufacturing and fulfillment to ensure a quality game and timely delivery of pledge rewards.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $95 or more
About $95

Honorary Wizard

For US, CAN, EU only.

Want to play Arcane Alley before everyone else? As soon as the campaign ends, we'll send you one of the 10-of-a-kind high quality finished prototypes featured in the preview and review videos, and you can get to work selling infamous goods.

In addition, receive 1 copy of the Deluxe edition of the game with all unlocked stretch goals.